We argue that the outcome of the 2015 Nobel Prizes shows that the barriers between physical and life sciences are increasingly subtle. Biology continues its Chemistry invasion and the Nobel Prize of Phisiology or Medicine is given to a classical Medicinal Chemistry methodology: the search for new drugs through natural products optimization (AU)

B-Lactams (BL) are the drugs most frequently involved in allergic reactions. They are classified according to their chemical structure as penicillins, cephalosporins, monobactams, carbapenems, and clavams. All BL antibiotics have a BL ring that is fused to a 5-member or 6-member ring (except in monobactams) and has 1, 2 or 3 side chains (except in clavams). Differences in chemical structure mean that a wide range of BLs are recognized by the immune system, and patients may experience clinical reactions to one BL while tolerating others. Diagnosis is based on skin and in vitro testing, although both display low sensitivity, possibly because they are based on drugs or drug conjugates that are not optimally recognized by the immune system. BLs are haptens that need to bind to proteins covalently to elicit an immune response. These drugs have a high capacity to form covalent adducts with proteins through nucleophilic attack of amino groups in proteins on the BL ring. Allergenic determinants have been described for all BLs, although benzylpenicillin is the most widely studied. Moreover, formation of BL-protein adducts is selective, as we recently demonstrated for amoxicillin, which mainly modifies albumin, transferrin, and immunoglobulin heavy and light chains in human serum. Given the complexity of BL allergy, understanding the immunological mechanisms involved and optimization of diagnostic methods require multidisciplinary approaches that take into account the chemical structures of the drugs and the carrier molecules, as well as the patient immune response (AU)

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2013 to Austrian researcher Martin Karplus, Professor of the Université de Strasbourg, France and Emeritus Professor at Harvard University, USA, to Southafrican Michael Levitt, Professor at Stanford University, USA, and Israeli Arieh Warshel, Professor at University of Southern California, USAô for the development of multi scale models for complex chemical systemsö. The work awarded with the Nobel Prize in Chemistry this year focuses on the development of methods that use both molecular mechanics and quantum mechanics. However, despite the impressive advances in software and hardware, the study of complex systems with alarge number of atoms, such as biomolecules, is quite challenging. To carry out modeling of enzymatic reactions and other biomolecular processes involving changes in electronic structure, such as formation and breaking of covalent bonds or charge-transfer processes, the combined use of quantum mechanics and molecular mechanics (QM/MM) has become the method of choice, following an idea originally formulated by this year's awarded researchers (AU)

Un acercamiento a la historia de la documentación científica en Cataluña. La labor de María Serrallach Juliá (1905-1992) en el Seminario de Química de la Universidad de Barcelona (1937-1984) / An approach to the history of scientific documentation in Catalonia. The activity of María Serrallach Juliá (1905-1992) in the Seminary of Chemistry of the University of Barcelona (1937-1984)

his article contributes a study of Maria Serrallach Juliá (1905-1992), one of the first specialised librarians in Spain. Between 1937 and 1975, she directed the Seminary of Chemistry of the University of Barcelona (initials in Spanish, SQUB), the name given to the space that resulted from the merger of the libraries of the Faculties of Pharmacy and Chemistry of the University. Serrallach turned the SQUB into a modern scientific documentation centre offering services that were practically non-existent in the rest of Spain. The publications and educational activity of Serrallach are also analysed. The history of the SQUB is studied until 1984, when SQUB was transformed into the Library of the Faculties of Physics and Chemistry of the University of Barcelona (AU)

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2012 has been awarded to Robert J. Lefkowitz and Brian K. Kobilka for their studies on G-protein-coupled receptors. The components of this family of membrane proteins are ubiquitous and versatile biological sensors that play an essential physiological role by allowing our cells to respond to external stimuli. GPCR also are very important pharmacological targets for the treatment of a variety of pathological conditions. The contributions of Lefkowitz have been decisive in unveiling the chemical nature of these receptors and to better understand their signaling and regulatory mechanisms. Lefkowitz and Kobilka also cloned the beta-adrenergic receptor gene and paved the way for the identification of a large family of structurally-related receptor proteins. Finally, Kobilka has recently determined the tridimensional structure of prototypical GPCRs. The work by Lefkowitz and Kobilka opens exciting avenues for a better knowledge of receptor alterations in pathological situations and for the design of novel therapeutic strategies (AU)

A important issue regarding the educational practice in the EEES, is the interest in the students' global work from which curricular ECST system has been established. This particular approach requires a revision of the methodology applied in teaching.It is well known that the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have been extended to all social sectors and have produced a special impact on the educational system. In this context, Internet has proved to be not only important as a channel for the transmission of contents but also as a potential educational tool since incorporates interactivity, allows a personalized use of multiple resources, is adaptable to particular needs in the formative process and allows to combine different kinds of resources.The application of ICT in the University studies is more extended every day. In spite of the limitations imposed by the existence of groups formed by a high number of students, a clear trend seems to consolidate nowadays: the creation of virtual environments supporting on-site teaching and which are integrated as much as possible in the study schedules.The present communication focuses on these general aspects in relation with the experience accumulated in the development of several educational resources and the creation of a specific virtual environment for students which enrolled in Physical- Chemistry (Pharmacy section) during the past academic years.The virtual environment developed is a) a designed space not for accumulating static HTML pages but structured for allowing to update it with periodical contributions; b) an interactive space where the usual communicative exchange between students and teacher as well as between students is facilitated; c) a reference in which to incorporate complementary resources in order to support 'on site' teaching; and d) a place to integrate different tools with application in educational matters(AU)

The aim of this innovative teaching work is the improvement in the learning process of laboratory practical sessions of the subject 'Applied Physics and Physical Chemistry' of the Pharmacy degree syllabuses at the University of Granada. The laboratory practical sessions of several subjects in this Faculty have been traditionally carried out with the collaboration of 'laboratory demonstrators', who help to their classmates in the performance of the experiments, being always coordinated and supervised by a senior professor. This system has however some handicaps and limitations. With this project, we expect on one hand the figure of 'laboratory demonstrators' to disappear, and on the other hand to achieve that the student is more receptive and shows a higher interest in the practical sessions.Our experience proves that it is very important for the student to visualize the manipulation and methodology needed for the performance of the experiments in the laboratory. The new audiovisual Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) provide very didactic tools, which make the learning more attractive. With this purpose, we have prepared a DVD movie of each experiment planned in the practical sessions of the subject. These movies show the manipulation of the material and reagents, the use of specific instrumentation, good behaviour in the laboratory, and data acquisition and analysis, with the aim of guiding the student in the experimental work. The student will perform the experiments simultaneously to the movie projection, with the possibility of interacting with the movie itself and the senior professor present during the session. In short, we expect to enhance the motivation and own-initiative of the students, facilitating their self-learning, by means of an innovative teaching methodology that contributes to promote the adaptation to the European Space for Higher Education(AU)

The European Higher Education Area (EHEA) will change our teaching methodology with the implementation of new teaching strategies and greater participation of students in the learning process. The objective of our study is to evaluate the students' views in three main areas: a) teaching strategies promoted by the lecturer for the teaching/learning process, b) evaluation methods and c) achieve good competence in other areas such as oral communication skills or team-work. Thus we designed a questionnaire which was filled by Pharmacy students from various years (n=118; 40.5% males and 59.5% females) registered in several subjects. Analysis of data revealed that 93.1% considered that attendance to lectures helped them to understand the topics covered. A good proportion (82.8%) was also of the view that participating in lectures was a good aid to learning. The students valued the teachers explanations and the use of the blackboard as the most useful for them to learn followed by practicals and exercises and lastly by PowerPoint presentations. Our data suggest that students value strategies that make them participate in their own learning process as well as a system of continuing evaluation. The results obtained highlight the importance of teaching strategies which stimulate student participation but also the high value the students allocate to the most classic and characteristic features of any classroom: teacher and blackboard(AU)

The European Higher Education Area (EHEA) will change our teaching methodology with the implementation of new teaching strategies and greater participation of students in the learning process. The objective of our study is to evaluate the students' views in three main areas: a) teaching strategies promoted by the lecturer for the teaching/learning process, b) evaluation methods and c) achieve good competence in other areas such as oral communication skills or team-work. Thus we designed a questionnaire which was filled by Pharmacy students from various years (n=118; 40.5% males and 59.5% females) registered in several subjects. Analysis of data revealed that 93.1% considered that attendance to lectures helped them to understand the topics covered. A good proportion (82.8%) was also of the view that participating in lectures was a good aid to learning. The students valued the teachers explanations and the use of the blackboard as the most useful for them to learn followed by practicals and exercises and lastly by PowerPoint presentations. Our data suggest that students value strategies that make them participate in their own learning process as well as a system of continuing evaluation. The results obtained highlight the importance of teaching strategies which stimulate student participation but also the high value the students allocate to the most classic and characteristic features of any classroom: teacher and blackboard(AU)